Chip-maker Intel kills support for anti-transgender Boy Scouts of America

THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT — And it’s about time, too. Approximately $180,000-a-year going to Portland, Oregon area Boy Scout troops from giga-chip maker Intel is gone.

Intel finally pulled the plug after increased pressure from transgender and LGBT activists. A petition on Change.org seems to have been the final straw. Intel dodged earlier confrontations by arguing the money came as a result of Portland area employees volunteering with the scouts, in which Intel matched each hour’s time donated with $10. With 17,000 Oregon employees, this added up to a pretty penny for the scouts.

Intel announced that organizations getting donations from them must now have the same anti-discrimination as the one Intel has for itself. The only way the scouts can get Intel money now is to sign a nondiscrimination pledge. This is unlikely to happen any time soon.

The Boy Scouts’ Cascade Pacific Council’s Matt Devore: “When any political, adult issue gets in the way, where the real pain is is when it affects children.”

15 replies

Intel is using the only tool that the boy scouts respect, that is money. Once boy scouts accepts that there will never be only 2 genders and openly without fear or favour, allows trans scouts, then the funding will not only return, it will in all likely be increased. People will support an open trans friendly troop or troops.

The BSA gets a lot of support from the Mormon church, so if they allow trans/LGBT scouts, the Mormons may cut support. Now with all the other support drying up, they are really in a pickle. Offend the Mormons, the scouts may just go belly up first. I’m just guessing here. I’m not going to welcome them back if they do an aboutface. They’re toxic now.

I’ve got my fingers crossed, waiting for it to go away so I can support them. It HURTS walking by those boys outside the shopping center when I would make a purchase from or donation to any other organization.

More Corporations need to do the “Right Thing” like Intel did here.Perhaps the Scouts can survive on the Mormon largesse, but a public announcment of pulling funding has to be an embarrasment and a blow to the pocketbook ALWAYS hurts. Horray – Intel!!

UPS has just pulled its grant the Boy Scouts. They formerly gave up to 150K to BSOA in 2010, so that’s a big deal. This is exactly how the scouts will change… when pressure is put onto corporations which fund the scouts, the scouts will alter their phobic policies.

My thing is people saying “It hurts the children.” I find it mildly annoying (insert sarcasm) because how much more are we hurting our children by showing that some kids are not deserving of the same things other kids are because their parents or themselves are different? Besides I think if the Boy Scouts signed THAT pledge for Equality they’d have a LOT of donors from the other groups that stopped supporting them because they didn’t have it before.. They would have to prove they meant it first. Why hasn’t anyone set up a new group to embrace all children? Something similar to Boy Scouts but environmentally focused. We need to change the way we think globally. Involve all members of society. all ethnicity, genders, etc. it’s the 21st Century guys. Let’s move forward here. That is all.

Intel should donate some of that money to TransActive Education & Advocacy. That would make a very positive impact for many children who are the target of discrimination by the Scouts. http://www.transactiveonline.org